Skill Standards - ConCOVE webinar introducing the Good Practice Guides for Skill Standards

 Skills Standards are an evolutionary next step in describing and assessing skills. The New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) has mandated that skills standards are to be used in all qualifications, replacing unit standards. Their guidelines for listing skills standards provide a definition of a skill standard and the criteria required to list them on to the directory of assessment and skill standards (DASS).

Last week, I participated in a webinar organised by ConCOve Tūhura to introduce the good practice guides for skill standards.  The webinar was hosted by Eve Price from ConCOVE and included Dr. Karen Vaughan (Hummingbird Effect) who developed the guides with Andrew Kear, Michelle Tiatia from Waihanga Ara Rau and myself, representing 'providers'. 

The recording of the webinar can be viewed here.

The good practice guides themselves is made up of six guides. The first, provides a background. The second, an overview of the system for skill standards - these two also detail the evidence-base for the move towards skills standards. The next three guides are for practitioners. One on assessment and consistency issues, one for industry stakeholders and one for programme development and delivery. The last guide goes through the project itself, the method for developing the guides. 

It is important to understand skills standards as they will be the way in which all qualifications will be enacted. It will be important to workshop and have conversations with our teachers, as each qualification moves from unit to skill standards. Assessments (especially in the AI world) will need to be thought through and the introduction of skills standards represent a good opportunity to open and continue the important  ongoing work on understanding the role of assessment of akills (along with the knowledge, attributes and contributions to occupational identity formation). 

Being and becoming through higher education - brief overview

 This blog follows on from the previous which summarised a book on embodiment and professional learning.

The book - Being and becoming through higher education: Expanding possibilities was published 2024 by Springer. It is edited by G. Dall'Alba and is another timely book as we wrestle with our humanness in the age of AI. 

The book is Open Access via UTS and has 15 chapters, beginning with the introductory chapter by the editor - Embodied being in Higher Education. The main message is the importance of keeping to the main purpose of higher education i.e. to develop students' learning and enable them to become part of professional communities and to contribute to society at large. 

Four chapters in the first part, introduce the concepts and perspectives informing the focus of the book.

Firstly, a chapter on the 'ontological turn in HE' by the editor and R. Barnacle. Challenges the 'knowledge acquisition approach' towards determining who they become. 

Then a chapter by the editor on 'learning professional ways of being: Ambiguities of becoming. Rationalises the need to not only teach skills and knowledge, but to enable the types of learning which lead to students 'becoming'. 

Following on is another chapter by the editor 'towards a pedagogy of responsive attunement for HE' sets out the practical applications and implications. Here, the chapter focuses on how students can be directed towards the salient issues, principles and practices of their field or profession. The role of pedagogy and curricula is achieving these goals is also presented.

The last chapter in Part 1 by T. T. Vu and the editor is 'becoming authentic professionals: learning for authenticity'. Redefines authentic learning as not only involving real-life applications of knowledge but to ensure learners engage with tasks, learning environments etc. that help them become more fully human.

Part Two has three chapters around embodied learning

Begins with 'bodily grounds of learning: Embodying professional practice in biotechnology' with the editor and J. Sandberg. Foregrounds the need to be cognisant of the role of the body in learning, becoming and being. Embodied skilful performance and how it is attained is not often researched. Yet, there is importance in understanding how we perceive and feel in a sensual and tactile world.

Then a chapter on 'embodied learning in online environments' by the editor and R. Barnacle. Uses phenomenological perspectives to understand the use of ICTs in programmes to shift these from the predominant Western epistomology where knowledge and skills are often decontextualised from the practices they belong.

The third chapter in Part 2 is on 'international education and (dis)embodied cosmopolitanisms. Critique of international education which have not met their promise. International students are regarded as disembodied learners with littler regard for their cultures they bring with them.

The third in the book revolves around pedagogy and learner focus

First up is a chapter by the editor and S. Bengtsen on 're-imagining active learning: delving into darkness'. A discussion on what is active learning and its purposes in HE. Active learning is often invisible, unfocused, unsettling and may leave learners being more confused. Suggests the use of 'dark learning' to help improve and alleviate some of the disadvantages of active learning.

Then R. Barnacle and the author contribute the chapter 'committed to learn: student engagement and care in HE'. Advocates for the need to help students attain a capacity to care about others and things, rather than the focus on neoliberal directions on economic benefit to individuals.

'Authentic assessment for student learning: an ontological conceptualisation' is presented by T. T. VU and the editor. Instead of 'authentic assessments', the focus should be on the quality of educational processes which engage learners to become more fully human.

The last chapter in Part three is with the editor on 'evaluative judgement for learning to be in a digital world'. Argues that an important aspect of education is to develop the capability to judge the quality of one's work and the work of others. 

The last part has three chapters on enacting the concepts and principles presented and discussed in the previous chapters. They are written by the editor.

First up, 'improving teaching: enhancing ways of being university teachers'. Proposes the need to ensure that university teachers integrate their knowing, acting and being into their teaching and to make these visible to learners.

Following on is a chapter on 'making the familiar unfamiliar: re-thinking teaching in HE'. Explores the ontological turn required to bring meaning back into university teaching. Draws on the work on Heidegger and Irigaray to inform the conceptual underpinnings for the proposal.

The book ends with a chapter on 're-imaging the university: developing a capacity to care. Reiterates the need to understand the purposes on HR towards helping students to 'interrogate possibilities of being' in ways that help themselves thrive and also to contribute to the society they live in. 

Overall, the book sets out to encourage a rethink of the objectives of university education as not just to provision knowledge and skills to learners and meet the economic direction of nations. Instead, the importance of developing learners sense of being and to deploy pedagogy towards supporting learners to become, are required as we move into a future where by humanness is being challenged by digital agents.

Pedagogies for future orientated learning - a book overview

 This book edited by Helen Bound, Jennifer Pei-Ling Tan and Rebekah Lim Wei Ying, proposes some responses to the current challenges posed by the rapid changes wrought by the 4^th Industrial revolution.

It brings together two topics within my research sphere – pedagogy and identities. It’s a relatively short book – not quite 200 pages – with 10 chapters.

The book begins with an Introduction: Flipping the lens from educator to learner, written by Helen Bound. This chapter, along with the following chapter, introduces the book’s focus on learners as being at the centre of learning, instead of educators or teachers. The rationale is that work constructs will shift but it is the individual who has to adjust to these changes. Providing agency and opportunities for learners’ continued professional development, equips them with the skill sets and attributes to make choices and continue with ongoing employment.

The second chapter by the book’s 3 editing authors, introduces the key constructs: conceptions of learners’ future-orientation, identities, contexts, and practices. These three are interconnected. Learners embark on a continuous journey to become and be, meaning their identities shift as contexts of their work and occupational practices shift with time and future orientations.  

The next four chapters make up the section on ‘framing the issues’.

First up is Anne Edwards with a chapter on ‘rethinking learning for a high-skills economy: what a cultural-historical approach can offer. Uses Vygotsky ‘social pathway of learning’ as a means to explain how people’s agency are in turn supported by the various ways their learning environment, socio-cultural relationships, and work tasks. It is important to try to understand the multiplicity of paths individuals may select from and how these are impinged upon by many other factors.

Secondly, Roger Säljö writes on ‘learning in a designed work: symbolic technologies and epistemic practices in the evolution of professional knowing. Proposes that humans have always created artefacts (tools, machines, books etc.) to support their work. Intellectual activities also depend on symbolic technologies and these are much more prevalent now due to the advances in digital technologies. It is important to understand how we integrate these into our work as they assist as to think, problem solve and becoming competent workers.

The third chapter in the section is by Henning Salling Olesen. His chapter is titled ‘researching lifelong learning policy: concepts and tools’. Calls for the recognition of practical perspectives into how we understand ‘formal learning’ and ‘lifelong learning’.

The fourth chapter by Arthur Chia is on ‘future of work, transitions, and future-orientated learning’. Utilises a social economy perspective on work and poses the need to ensure there is a more equitable future that allows the needs and interests of working people’s learning are prioritised. Proposes future orientated learning as a means to enhance ownership and control of their work, labour and skills. This is supported through the ‘six principles of learning design’ to engender workers’ and learners’ agency, mutual exchange and interaction, participation and engagement in work. 

The next section covers ‘flipping the lens in practice’ and has 4 chapters.

First up, Christine Owen writes on ‘enhancing learning in the workplace’. Applies psychological and socio-cultural perspectives to argue that workplace learning is a two way process – between worker agency and workplace affordances. This chapter adds to the corpus of work on better understanding the complex nature of workplace learning.

Then, Rebekah Lim Wei Ying’s chapter ‘towards expertise: operationalizing identity development and considerations for the Singapore work-study programme covers how the growth of agency in workplace learners, is connected relationally to a complex web of ‘others’. These include the signs and symbols mediated by how people use these; and the identity positions assumed by people which augment or downgrade who they are. Proposes that study of work should include perspectives of the learner, the learners’ reflection of their growth, and how others view the learner.

Next up, Helen Bound and Seng Chee Tan write on ‘dialogic inquiry: a pedagogy for foregrounding future-oriented learners and their learning’. Argues for a shift from exploring ‘educator and content’ towards the dialogic processes of teaching and learning. There needs to be a stronger focus on learners and learning. Uses two case studies to illustrate the richness of data from applying dialogic inquiry to better understand learning.

The last chapter is by BiXioafang on ‘adult learners’ sense-making in blended learning environments: Healthcare and workplace safety and health’. Brings in the ‘blended learning’ environment into the milieu. Explores the sense-making features of individuals in two blended courses; and the impact of sense-making contributors (context, design and delivery).

Overall, good chapters to provide food for thought on the changes in how we understand workplace learning. Although a complex environment, context, individuals’ agency, and workplace affordances are predominate players. Ensuring learner support to understand better, their own motivations and learning trajectories; promoting better workplace understanding and support; and the provision of government policies to support seen to be the way to go.

CRADLE 2020 - Day two 'morning' presentations

 

Day two begins with presentations on assessment in a post digital world. The presenters are Associate Professor Phillip Dawson, Associate Professor Rola Ajjawi and Professor Margaret Bearman (researchers from CRADLE at Deakin). The discussant is Professor Michael Henderson from Monash University.

The symposium began with Michael acknowledgement of Country. Each of the presenters shared their work – which are chapters in the book – reimagining university assessment in a digital world.

Rola begins by presenting on ‘assessment as portrayal and the strategic negotiation of persona’. Began with the impact on digital technology on work – permeates everything, blurring professional and private life, careers becoming more fluid and greater portrayal of digital identities. Assessments are for certification, guide learning, help with employability and learning how to make evaluative judgements. Completing the qualification recognised with award and transcript but does that portray who the graduate is?? Proposed assessment-as-portrayal to enable students to portray their achievements in public ways, communicate directly with others. Examples include the use of graduate learning outcomes through portfolios/credentials etc. Another pathway may be through persona studies used by celebrities. Persona can be considered as a strategic identity (Marshall & Henderson, 2016). Five dimensions of persona include the public, mediatised, performative, collective and intentional value and reputation. Reimagining assessments using persona studies involves introduction of a subjective dimension to assessment practices, a rethink of how we judge the quality of portrayal for future work; and encouragement of student agency. Concluded with some important questions on how portrayal may work.

Margaret covered the topic ‘assessment for an AI-mediated world’. What does AI do well? – identify patterns more accurately than humans, faster and at scale. However, this is a myth. Automated essay grading is available but restricted to appropriate topics and tasks. The systems are bounded by the quality of the original data set! If a machine is able to grade a task, then it can do the task. Therefore assessments need to be centred around unique human capabilities – evaluative judgements, deployment of meta-intelligence (i.e. knowing about how you know). Assessments that promote EJ is not just about identifying but the ability to construct their own sense about quality withing a unique practice environment. Assessments can promote EJ through cycles of self, peer and educator assessments. Assessment should develop personal epistemology. Deliberately call attention to the EJ process. Use example rubrics to form powerful epistemic artefacts. Ask learners to question the role of rubrics (Bearman & Ajjiwi, 2019). Assessment tasks should prompt students to answer questions on – what qualities make this a good piece of work? If I were to set the criteria for success, what will it look like? How do we know we have achieved?

Phillip presented on ‘surveillance and the weaponization of academic integrity’. At the moment, Higher ed (HE) assessment has a surveillance culture, this may be OK but we should fear the weaponization of surveillance on academic integrity’. Drones, webcams and other tools collect data on student learning. Argued that presently, a surveillance culture pervades society and this is seen as acceptable by many ‘for our own good’. Surveillance culture’s effect on assessments include the creation of a culture of distrust; frames students as being in need of monitoring; students and their data become a product; academic integrity becomes a game of submitting to or subverting surveillance; and there eventuates an acceptance of the surveillance. There needs to be a balance between surveillance and academic integrity. Assessment security may be adversarial, punitive and evidence based but academic integrity is positive, educative and supportive.

 

Session one DAY 2: Learning through and for work is with Associate Professor Gloria Dall’Alba from the University of Queensland. She presents on ‘toward a pedagogy of responsive attunement in educating for the professions’.

Rhea Liang introduces the session.

Placed the presentation in the current context, where ‘fake news’ is of concern. Society relies on truthfulness. When fake news disrupts the standard discourse, it causes frustration and disillusionment. Proposes responsive attunement as a means to ensure professional are able to evaluate information in a studied and evidence based approach. Therefore, it is important to ensure our ‘way of being-in-the-world’ (Heidegger, 1962) is anchored in the ability to evaluate and respond to information. Advocated for ‘the capacity to care’ (Noddings, 2005) as a mark of personhood. Need to listen to the multiplicity of perspectives, and to be able to assess their importance. Learning incorporated what we know and do (epistemological) but also how we are learning to be (ontological). Being attuned allows professionals to work through complexities and ethical dimensions. Responsive attunement is responding on the basis of tuning in to others and things, with reflexivity. Responding includes sensate, motile, emotional – i.e multimodally. Education needs to begin the process so professionals are prepared for the challenges posed at work. Implications summarised as – highlighting tuning in and responding, focus on programme goals, reward in assessment, address embodied learning, have well-integrated program and ensure epistemological and ontological dimensions addressed.

Then a session with Dr. Emma Scholz from Charles Sturt University on ‘Professional identity development : Implications for sustainable assessments’. Presents on work with Franziska Trede.

Emphasis on professional identity development in the workplace and the bringing in of Bloom’s taxonomy to assist the process. Presented the concept of locating professional identity in a practice theory framework – in the context of first year of practice for new graduate veterinarians. Research focus needs to be grounded in ‘individuals in their social practice’. Detailed sequential analysis process to thematically analyse interviews and field notes. Themes than taken back to the data to construct key stories. These underwent dialogic analysis to provide for the narratives. Theme on practice capability, the learning professional, striving to become a capable practitioner, and mobilising criticality within capability, shared with interview vignettes. A screen shot of a key story presented. Proposed implications for practice.

Identity, pedagogy and technology-enhanced learning: supporting the processes of becoming a tradesperson -- previews access

Apart from the short previews of each chapter on my book's publisher's website, other means of access include:

• Amazon - hardcopy of book - has preview of parts of the Foreword written by Professor Stephen Billett and the preface which has summaries of chapters.
• Google books - has portions of chapter 1 and 2.

Happy reading :)

Multiple Dimensions of Teaching and Learning for Occupational Practice - book overview

Here is an overview of the book  'Multiple Dimensions ofTeaching and Learning for Occupational Practice'  Edited by Professor Sai Loo and just published by Routledge 2019. The hardcoopy of the book arrived last week and I had a good read of it over the weekend.

Disclaimer: I have a chapter published in this book

Chapter 1

Researching occupational practice - SAI LOO

The first chapter, sets the scene by firstly detailing the rationale and origins of the book topic. The book seeks to provide perspectives from a range of tertiary education levels, sectors and discipline areas. Education which leads on to an occupation, or occupational teaching, is used as a term to include the various levels (post-school to higher education) and sectors (vocational, further, higher education, VET, TVET, TAFE etc.). Various chapters represent these levels and sectors through the book. Occupational teaching also includes continuous professional development. Brief overviews of each chapter are provided in this chapter.

Chapter 2

‘Ausbildungsberufe’ – a necessary and complex ingredient of the ‘Dual’ apprenticeship frameworks - LORENZ LASSNIGG

This chapter critiques the various socio, historical and political pressures brought to bear on the Austrian apprenticeship system. A quantitative approach is used to unravel the many stakeholders involved and how these have impinged on the evolution of the entire system. The Austrian system, with roots in the Germanic tradition, is argued to be unique in that there is a tight linkage between occupations and industry needs. In particular, the system used to ‘create new occupations’ is of interest due to the rapidly changing world of work.

Chapter 3

Occupational preparation for manual work: fitter/machinists and concrete operators- ERICA SMITH

Here, a comparative study is used to examine how two trades, have differing ways to prepare people for work. The study explores the ‘skilled’ vs ‘unskilled’ divide and how occupations become privileged through historical evolution (i.e. older occupations); support from trade unions; and a tradition of apprenticeship. This privileging allows for some occupations to have higher regard in the public eye and others to maintain their reputation as ‘dirty work’. Yet, all occupations have inherent skill complexity. Lots of food for thought in this article.

Chapter 4

Perspectives of beginning trades tutors on teaching and learning- SELENA CHAN

My chapter draws from the first project I undertook for Ako Aotearoa. This article, focuses on the concept of drawing from the knowledge and skill sets of trades practitioners, to support their ‘boundary crossing’ to become vocational educators. The article argues for a ‘strengths’ based approach instead of the prevalent ‘top-down’ and ‘we know best’ model whereby trades people, have to adopt the ways of teaching and learning which come through the school and higher education sectors. In particular, the chapter advocates for using apprenticeship approaches to assist new trades teachers and to introduce theories of learning (cognitive apprenticeship etc.) and types of learning literature, which align to trades people life and work experiences.

Chapter 5

A typology of occupational teachers’ capacities across the three academic levels - SAI LOO

Here, the editor presents a chapter on connecting the pedagogical practices across VET, higher and professional education. The epistemological focuses and perspectives are used, along with the framework of Berstein’s notions of knowledge to find commonalities and differences across the sectors. The knowledge schemas of teachers is expanded to include the range of knowledge, experiences, skills and abilities which inform teaching.

Chapter 6

Education and training in human movement programmes: stakeholder perspectives- SALLEE CALDWELL AND MELINDA HALL

In this chapter, the context of human movement and development is used to study how stakeholders perceive the preparation of students for work. A good example of engaging stakeholders and using the data to inform curriculum development and student learning.

Chapter 7

Educating work-ready youth workers: designing a university program for Australian and international contexts- JENNIFER BROOKER

Here, the preparation of youth workers within a university programmes is studied. Of interest is how the university, re-configured the programme to be more similar to VET type programmes, with a better balance between theory and practice.

Chapter 8

Learning to become an entrepreneur in unfavourable conditions: the case of new-entrants in the context of the Greek debt-crisis- KONSTANTINOS KARANASIOS AND THOMAS LANS

This is an interesting study, on how young people were assisted to move into agriculture whilst the country was wrestling with the challenges of an economy in meltdown. Of interest was the use of critical incidents technique to gather data. The 3-P model – presage, process and product – was also rationalised as a means to identify workplace factors which influence learning.

Chapter 9

Professionalism and affective learning for new prison officers: learning values, attitudes and behaviours in training at the Scottish Prison Service- KATRINA MORRISON

Reports on a longitudinal study of recruits into the Scottish prison service to understand how a new Officer Foundation programme has progressed. The programme has an emphasis on values, attitudes and behaviours as compared to previous iterations which had training focuses.

Chapter 10

The journey from healthcare assistant to assistant practitioner: working and learning- CLAIRE THURGATE

The journey of healthcare assistants to become assistant practitioners is described and illuminated in this chapter. Of relevance is the ways in which these learners were supported to become more self-directed. A conceptual framework is presented to describe and support healthcare assistants to become assistance practitioners.

Chapter 11

Understanding and appraising medical students’ learning through clinical experiences: participatory practices at work- STEPHEN BILLETT AND LINDA SWEET

This chapter reports on medical students’ learning during their clinical experience through ‘relational interdependence’. The authors argue that the process is reliant on the two-dimensional relationship between the affordances provided by the organisation and the way in which learners choose to engage with these.

Chapter 12

Learning decision making in Emergency Medicine- DUNCAN THOMAS CARMICHAEL

The decision making processes of emergency physicians is used to provide insights into how skills and experiences are honed through workplace learning.

Chapter 13

Reflections on the occupational practice- SAI LOO

The concluding chapter provides an overview of the findings, conclusions and implication for occupational education across the various systems, levels and disciplines presented in the 11 chapters.

Overall, a good collection of chapters, attesting to the contextualised and specialised journeys of people becoming through learning, work and reflection, to take on occupational identity. 

Stephen Billett - Learning through practice - overview of work and bibilography

I prepared this list for a colleague of mine, starting on her PhD journey. She is researching practice-based learning. As many people find Billett's work to be 'dense' and as much of it is now considered the seminal articles on workplace and practice-based learning, I looked into providing her with a smooth introduction into his work.

Firstly, there is a short video (under 4 minutes) which provides a good overview.  As Stephen was my PhD supervisor, I had the opportunity to gain familiarity with his work over a period of time. His first seminal articles on workplace learning were published in the 1990s and early 2000s. I advise other scholars, interested and beginning in the field of workplace learning, practice-based learning and learning through practice to at least read 3 to 4 of Stephen’s articles from the 1990s. They set up a good background for his current work.

The seminal papers on various topics include:

Workplace learning – including concepts of affordances / interdependencies

Billett, S. (1996). Situated learning: Bridging sociocultural and cognitive theorising. Learning and Instruction, 6 (3), 263–280.

Billett, S. (2001). Learning at work: workplace affordances and individual engagement. Journal of Workplace Learning, 13(5), 209-214.

Billett, S. (2002). Toward a workplace pedagogy: Guidance, participation, and engagement. Adult Education Quarterly, 53(1), 27-43.

Billett, S. (2002). Workplace pedagogic practices: co-participation and learning. British Journal of Education Studies, 50(4), 457-481. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-8527.t01-2-00214

Billett, S. (2003). Sociogeneses, activity and ontogeny. Culture and Psychology, 9(2), 133-169.

Identity – subjectivities

Billett, S. (2006). Constituting the workplace curriculum. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 36 (1), 31-48.

Billett, S. (2008). Learning throughout working life: A relational interdependence between personal and social agency. British Journal of Educational Studies, 56(1), 39-58.

Billett, S. (2008). Subjectivity, learning and work:Sources and legacies.  Vocations and Learning, 1(2), 149-171.

Billett, S., & Somerville, M. (2004). Transformational work: Identity and learning. Studies in Continuing Education, 26(2), 309-326.

Billett, S., & Pavlova, M. (2005). Learning through working life: Self and individuals’ agentic action. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 24(3), 195-211.

Practice based learning

Billett, S. (2009). Personal epistemologies, work and learning. Educational Research Review, 4, 210-219.

Billett, S. (2010). Learning through practice. In S. Billett (Ed.), Learning through practice:Models, traditions, orientations and approaches (pp. 1-20). Netherlands: Springer.

Billett, S., & Choy, S. (2013). Learning through work: emerging perspectives and new challenges. Journal of Workplace Learning, 25(4), 264 – 276. 

Cleland, J., Leaman, J., & Billett, S. (2014). Developing medical capabilities and dispositions through practice-based experiences. In C. Harteis, A. Rausch & J. Seifried (Eds.), Discourses on Professional Learning: On the Boundary between Learning and Working (pp.211-230). Drodrecht, Netherlands: Springer.

Mimetic learning

Billett, S. (2014). Mimetic learning at work. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer.

Vocational education : Professor Stephen Billett's latest book

A hardcopy of Professor Stephen Billett’s new book ‘Vocational education: purposes, traditions and prospects’ arrived in the library just as I got back to work a month ago.  Usual preview also available on Google books. As much of the content is relevant to my research, I have put time  into working through the book.

In this book, Billett argues for better recognition/respect of the role of vocational education. To support the assertion he begins by undertaking a review of the positioning of vocational education through analysis of its historical roots, both in Western (Greek, Roman) and Asian (Chinese) traditions. Discussions continue by unpacking the connotations of the terms 'vocations' and 'occupations'. The historical valuing of vocations is contrasted to the more prosaic acceptance of the need for people to undertake paid work in the form of occupations. Of interest, is the collation of an argument for the deliberation of not only vocations but occupations as a calling. Thereby, closing the loop with regards to occupations and vocations, with some individuals, transforming their occupations into vocations.

The various economic, social and political pressures and continuous reforms within vocational education are then overviewed and brought together in the next few chapters on the development and purposes of vocational education.

Then a useful chapter, introducing, substantiating and describing the vocational education curricula as intended curriculum as decreed by standards setting bodies, enacted curriculum by those who deliver the learning required to take up a vocational occupation and the experienced curriculum as how learners/students encounter and engage with the learning. Parts of this are summarised in Billett’s keynote presentation last year at the Industry Training Federation’s (ITF) NZ vocational education research forum. The concept is useful when we assess the impact of vocational education on students who are being prepared (through pre-trade or university education) for work. Does the intended curriculum actually meet the needs of industry and is the curriculum as experienced by learners, actually sufficient preparation for the realities of work?


Overall, a scholarly book written for an academic audience. It provides good overview of the present state of affairs in the vocational education field. Vocational education is something governments require to assist with the training of a ‘skilled’ workforce. Yet, vocational education is more than ‘just training’, it prepares people for occupations , in turn providing livelihoods for many. For some, occupations are not just a job, but a means to also attain fulfilment. As vocational educators, we need to think through our objectives. Are we training? or educating? Does preparation for work also need to include many non-work related skills that help people become 'who they want to be and become'?  So, in a sense, the book raises many questions about vocational education's role - for individuals, society or humanity?

Ways of knowing and making knowledge

ways of knowing and making knowledge

Had a day over the long weekend to put into exploring in greater detail, two new books just arrived in the CPIT library. The contents of both books, complement my current reading around 'how trade skills are learnt'. The first book is 'Ways of knowing: new approaches in the anthropology of experience of learning'. published in 2007 and edited by Mark Harris. I had skimmed read this book at the Griffith University library and placed at order at the CPIT library, so good to be able to get back into the interesting chapters. The second book is published 2010 and edited by Trevor Marchand called "Making knowledge: explorations of the indissoluble relation between mind, body and environment'. Both books have common anthropological roots with several chapters written by the same authors.

The above books complement two other books I have been working through. "Knowing work: the social relations of working and knowing", 2009 edited by Markus Weil, Leena Koski and Liv Mjelde and 'Emerging perspectives of workplace learning", 2008 edited by Stephen Billett, Christian Harteis and Anneli Etelapelto. Both have socio-cultural leanings and education backgrounds. In the knowing work book, chapters of interest and relevance include Richard Daly on 'communicating the working knowledge of working life: making visible the invisible' - using the need to decode a totally diagrammic ikea instruction sheet to built a stool, as an example.

In the book 'Emerging perspectives' chapters of relevance include:
Stephen Billett's introduction providing a summary of the purposes of workplace learning.
'Negotiating professional identity' by Katja Vahasantanen and Stephen Billet report on how individuals negotiate identity as vocational teachers in the face of continual top-down directed change.
'Learning through Errors' by Johannes Bauer and Regina Mulder provides an overview of concepts of 'error' and how we can learn from through making mistakes
'Reflection and professional competence' by Martin Gartmeier, Stefanie Kipfmueller, Helmut Heid and Hans Gruber - provides an activity theory and social perspective on processes of learning through reflection
'Developing conceptual knowledge in road transport' by Jason Lewis (avetra paper) is of interest for its exploration of guided learning and its role in helping drivers learn problem solving.

Of the ways of knowing, important chapters are
Trevor Marchand on 'Crafting knowledge: the role of parsing and production' - uses a study of masons in Mali to try to explain how craft people communicate at work with very little verbal interaction.
Greg Downey on 'Seeing with a sideways glance', derived from studies of the Brazilian martial art/dance form capoeira.

Most of the chapters in the 'Making knowledge book' are pertinent.
Trevor Marchand's introductory chapter provides a very good overview, marrying the anthropological findings reported in the book to studies in brain function, cognition, psychology, biology, etc.
His chapter on 'Embodied cognition' extends on the work reported in the 'ways of knowing book' and uses examples from a joinery programme, to again explain how people seem to be able to use bodily movements as a form of conversation, including interjections and agreement.
Of interest are the chapters on embodied learning (Greg Downey), Kazakh women's everyday craft practice (Anna Odland Portisch), Central Slovak lace makers (Nicolette Makovicky), weavers in South India (Soumhya Venkatesan) and medical students learning how to hear heart sounds (Tom Rice).

The challenge over the next couple of years is for to formulate projects that study trades skills learning, bringing together the literature on workplace learning, identity formation, socio-cultural influences with the anthropological literature on human knowledge.